Abstract
Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the role of PCR in conjunctival swab in the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) disease.Patients and methods This is a prospective cross-sectional study that included 50 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection with and without conjunctivitis. Reverse transcriptase PCR was done for all conjunctival swabs to detect the presence or absence of coronavirus RNA.Results The mean age of the patients was 51.9±0.8 years, with 19 (38%) patients having conjunctivitis and 31 (62%) patients without conjunctivitis. The mean days since the onset of COVID symptoms was 9.5±0.7 days. Fever was present in 48 (96%) patients and respiratory symptoms were present in 49 (98%) patients. Positive, weak positive, and negative reverse transcriptase PCR of conjunctival swabs were detected in nine (18%), seven (14%), and 34 (68%) patients, respectively.Conclusion There were low viral RNA loads in the conjunctival swab. So, its analysis cannot offer an opportunity to confirm the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection.
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